Guernsey: Court of Appeal Enforces Open Justice Standards in Trust Appeals (Re ABC Trust)

In In the matter of the ABC Trust [2026] GCA 008, the Guernsey Court of Appeal refused an application for full privacy orders on an appeal originating from the Royal Court. The Court reaffirmed that the presumption of open justice applies strictly to appellate proceedings, holding that privacy orders will only be granted where demonstrably necessary in the interests of justice.

• Evidential Standard: Applicants must adduce concrete evidence showing why anonymisation protocols or redactions fail to mitigate privacy risks before a court will order full in-camera proceedings.
  
  
• Practice Impact: Establishes that first-instance privacy orders do not automatically extend to appellate trust proceedings, requiring fiduciaries to submit fresh evidential foundations for privacy on appeal.
  
  
• Source: Read Bedell Cristin's Guernsey Court of Appeal Privacy Order Briefing.